1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mud-flap assembly for vehicles and heavy equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mud-flaps can be installed on large tractor-trailers, mid-sized trucks and even smaller trucks and are important to keep flying debris from coming off of any tires. There are a number of different ways that these mud-flaps can be attached and secured to the wheel-wells of these types of vehicles. These mud-flaps and mud-flap assemblies are outlined and reflected in the related art.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2002/0043797 published on Apr. 18, 2002, outlines the use of a mud-flap for a vehicle with a panel member of rubber having a top mounting end for securement within the wheel-well of a vehicle, a bottom free end having a metallic accent plate supported thereon and respective inner and outer sides extending between the ends of the panel member.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2002/0185853 published on Dec. 12, 2002, outlines the use of an adjustable mud-flap holder with a flap rod with a first attachment arm extended orthogonally for attachment to a first vehicle rod and a second attachment arm extended orthogonally for attachment to a second vehicle rod. The first attachment arm and the second attachment arm have insert projections that are disposed oppositely for insertion into vehicle-rod apertures for fastening the mud-flap holder to a vehicle aft of rear wheels of the vehicle predeterminedly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,092 issued to Herlein on Aug. 21, 1979, outlines the use of a mud-flap mounting bracket that mounts a mud-flap onto a truck frame. A mud-flap assembly has a seat member, a faceplate rotatably seated against the seat member, and an arm attached to one end thereof to the faceplate. A tension spring has one end connected to the arm and another end connected to a chain, which is in turn attached to the seat member through a U-bolt for retaining the faceplate seated against the seat member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,727 issued to Rock on Apr. 27, 1982, outlines the use of a mudguard assembly for mounting on the rear portion of a vehicle behind its rear wheel. The mudguard assembly has a bracket unit, fastened to the vehicle chassis, which bifurcates downwardly into resilient clamping legs, defining hollow space therewithin a horizontal slot extending between and along their entire lower edge portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,667 issued to Manning on Sep. 3, 1991, outlines a mud-flap, which can be easily installed and removed from its mounting bracket. The mud-flap is substantially planar in form with a predetermined thickness. The mud-flap has a peripheral edge whose cross-section is larger than the predetermined thickness of the mud-flap. The mounting bracket includes a bracket body from which two flanges extend downwardly. The flanges converge towards one another at their lower ends, forming a slot therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,708 issued to Silva on Jun. 29, 1999, outlines a mud-flap mount for releasably mounting mud-flaps to vehicles, including automobiles, trucks, trailers and the like, to prevent damage to the mounting system, vehicle or mud-flap when excessive downward force is exerted on the mud-flap. The mud-flap mount has a planar member that connects to and extends downward from the angle bracket found under most vehicles. A shaped member attaches to the planar member, forming a cavity between the planar member and the shaped member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,553 issued to Cominsky on Oct. 19, 1999, outlines a mud-flap device for attachment to the traverse, rearward facing support frame of a truck. The retainer device has a spring-biased bracket constructed as a unitary, stainless steel piece that incorporates releasability of the mud-flap without destruction thereof, if the mud-flap is pulled under a truck tire or is torn away by similar exceptional forces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,628 issued to Adrian on Sep. 12, 2000, outlines a mud-flap holder for mounting on the rear portion of a vehicle behind its rear wheels, wherein the mud-flap is held between the back-plate of the holder and a pivotally mounted jaw-cover by spring-loaded tension. The mud-flap is inserted in the holder by first opening the jaw-cover and back-plate of the holder, and releasing the lever so that the jaw-cover closes, securing the mud-flap between the back-plate and the jaw-cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,502 issued to Howe et al. on Oct. 24, 2000, outlines a replaceable mud-flap system, which includes a rigid sleeve having a bottom face with a slot formed therein. The sleeve includes a hollow interior with a rectangular cross-section. An inboard end of the sleeve is perpendicularly coupled to a frame of a truck rearwardly of one of the tires thereof. An open outboard end allows communication with the hollow interior of the sleeve. An elastomeric flexible planar flap has a rigid guide coupled along a length thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,527 issued to Monhollen et al. on Feb. 13, 2001, outlines the use of a mud-flap retainer system that includes a mud-flap retainer member, a plurality of threaded studs extending substantially horizontally and rearward from the rear face of the mud-flap retainer member and positioned between the top and bottom ends of the mud-flap retainer member, a plurality of nuts sized for being threaded onto the threaded studs and a plurality of coupling shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,492 issued to Barr et al. on Sep. 3, 2002, outlines the use of a mud-flap hanger that incorporates a tension spring within a mud-flap support member of the hangar, which can be tensioned from a location external of the support member. The mud-flap hanger includes a connector projecting from the support member threadedly connected to a tensioner nut, which is rotated to tension the spring. A stop on the connector engages an end of the support member to limit the tension that can be applied to the tension spring.
German Patent No. DE 3 644 394 granted to Moellenstaedt et al. on Jul. 7, 1988, outlines the use of an easy to install dirt deflector to a mudguard using a spring clip and a mating piece allocated thereto. The mating piece is designed as an angular piece, one leg of which reaches into a pocket of the dirt deflector and the other leg of which has a receptacle for one leg of the spring clip.
W.I.P.O. Pat. No. 97/24249 granted to Richardson on Jul. 10, 1997, outlines a mud-flap bracket assembly for a slider suspension which has a forward portion adapted to be fixedly secured to a shortened slider rail and a rearward portion adapted to be slidably mounted to a body rail. Mud-flaps are also suspended from the rearward portion.
European Pat. No. EP 0 791 526 granted to Jacks et al. on Jan. 30, 1997, outlines a wheel guard assembly with a mudguard with a mud-flap which is retractable into the mudguard. The mud-flap is slidingly connected to the mudguard and may be clamped to the mudguard at any desired height above the ground. The assembly permits the mud-flaps of a vehicle to be retracted when there is a risk of them being damaged by contact with the ground. The height of the mud-flap above the ground varies with the load a vehicle is carrying and can thus be adjusted to a desired level regardless of the load.
Although each of these patents and patent applications outline mud-flap devices and assemblies that are novel and useful, they can be time-consuming and difficult to install. What is really needed is a mud-flap assembly that is easy and quick to install. Such a mud-flap assembly would address a great demand in the marketplace and make it easier for persons installing the mud-flap assemblies to install them.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a bracket and mud-flap assembly solving the aforementioned problems is desired.